Resources

Sunday Meeting: The Great Commitments

Date:

Sunday, March 19, 2017 - 11:00am

Location:

Ceremonial Hall - 4th floor

with Lyle Roelofs, Ph.D.
Dick Van Deusen presides

Shared charity: Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council

Since its founding in 1855, Berea College has been committed to providing higher education to the underserved, doing so without charging tuition. Its spiritual foundation, the belief that “God has made of one blood all peoples of the earth,” motivates the inclusive nature of the educational community that comprises Berea, and also undergirds the College’s mission statement, expressed in our Great Commitments. These eight Commitments serve as an ethical and strategic basis for decisions made at the College. The lecture will outline the Great Commitments and illustrate how they guide planning, programming and leadership decisions at Berea College.

Lyle Roelofs began his tenure as Berea College’s ninth president on July 1, 2012. He is a graduate of Calvin College (Grand Rapids, MI) with a B.S. degree with honors in physics and mathematics. He earned M.S. and Ph.D. degrees, both in physics, at the University of Maryland and has more than 35 years of experience in teaching and research at the University of Maryland, Calvin College, Brown University, Haverford College, and Colgate University. He is also an experienced administrator, having served as associate provost at Haverford College, and as provost, dean of faculty, and interim president at Colgate University prior to his appointment at Berea. A number of U.S. and international institutions, including Sandia National Laboratory, the Fritz-Haber Institut in Berlin, the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (Munich), Technische Universität Clausthal, and Universität Ulm, have hosted Roelofs as a visiting scientist or fellow.

Dr. Roelofs’ leadership initiatives at Berea College include strategic planning and institutional advancement through exploration of the College’s Great Commitments, sustainability as an institutional commitment, and enhancing the physical resources of the College.

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The New York Society for Ethical Culture is a humanist community dedicated to ethical relationships, social justice, and environmental stewardship. Entry to our 100-year-old building and meeting rooms is wheelchair accessible. For events in our Auditorium and Social Hall, please call ahead (212-874-5210 x121) and plan to arrive one hour before start time.